Indian Finance Minster targets fiscal deficit at 3 pct of GDP for 2018-19: Union Budget

Indian Finance Minster Arun Jaitley in its 2017-18 Union Budget targeted fiscal deficit at 3.2 percent of GDP for 2017-18 and 3 percent for 2018-19, rising probability for higher sovereign rating.

This moved come as the government of India (GoI) has been under pressure to reduce its fiscal deficit from the rating agencies like Standard & Poor's which have refused to upgrade India's ratings demanding reduction in government's debt, reported NDTV

Fiscal deficit in the first nine months of 2016-17 is considered to have touched 93.9 percent of the previous Budget target, as compared to 87.9 percent the same period year ago. The fiscal deficit was at INR5.01 lakh crore in April-December of 2016-17 Budget estimates.

As per data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), tax revenue came in at INR7.52 lakh crore, or 71.4 percent of the full-year BE of INR10.54 lakh crore, reported Economictimes.